Well, according to Mr. Billy Neat, the winter of 77/78 would not be as bad as the previous winter of 76/77. I will admit that a lot depends upon the definition of "bad" but I would say that all things being equal Mr. Neat was correct. Of course, given that the winter of 76/77 produced a six week period of record cold so intense that grave diggers found frost 48 inches deep in the ground; one would suppose that a half-way weather cognizant 6 year old could have made that prediction. I would surmise that a decade or two of weather like 76/77 would have produced a fairly good crop of permafrost around these parts. --BJF